The Cabinet’s request for the approval of a 10.1 billion baht central budget to help ease the burden of electricity costs for the public has been rejected by the Election Commission (EC).
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wissanu Krea-ngam said the documents have been resubmitted to the EC, along with a Cabinet resolution outlining the reasons for the budget as requested by the EC.
Dr Wissanu clarified that there were some minor issues due to lack of prior consultation on whether the central budget request should be submitted to the EC before or after receiving Cabinet’s approval. However, he said he believes that the process should not be complicated and should take no more than one week, as the EC holds meetings on a weekly basis.
He added that even if EC members are traveling abroad, it should not affect the process as they rotate travel schedules.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that if the Cabinet does not request EC approval, the central budget cannot be used. This is in accordance with Article 169, which prohibits the appointment or transfer of government officials, undertaking commitments to the next government, or using the central budget unless it has been approved by the EC and is only for urgent and necessary allocations. (NNT)
